Opener Goes To The (Little) Dogs

After giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, Tacoma rallied and took the lead in the third. The Rainiers scored four times that inning, grabbing a 4-2 lead. But El Paso’s five-run fifth inning – in which they knocked out Tacoma starter Jordan Pries – put the game firmly in the hands of the Chihuahuas.

Bad result aside, two Tacoma players stood out from my perspective:

Third baseman Carlos Rivero is very spry on defense despite being a large man. Rivero covered a lot of ground charging slow rollers, and he made a nice play on a difficult grounder over the third base bag. If one game is any indication, I think he’s going to be a big help on defense. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a solo home run.

Catcher John Hicks showed exactly why the Mariners like him enough to have added him to the 40-man roster last winter. He threw out two-of-three attempted base stealers on Thursday night, both times quickly unleashing strong, accurate throws.

The final result was a bummer, but there are still… (counts on fingers and toes)… 143 games left this season. Including one tonight.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Tacoma lost the season opener in El Paso, 11-4. El Paso had 18 hits.

Today: Tacoma (0-1) at El Paso (1-0), 6:05 (Pacific).

Affiliations: Tacoma is the Mariners affiliate; El Paso is the San Diego Padres farm club.

Starting Pitchers: LHP Roenis Elias vs. RHP Aaron Northcraft

Elias drew the short straw in spring training, losing the battle for the Mariners fifth starter spot to Taijuan Walker. Northcraft makes his Padres organization debut tonight; he was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the first big Padres-Braves trade involving an Upton brother.

Hot Rainiers: Ketel Marte, Stefen Romero, Jesus Montero, Franklin Gutierrez, and Carlos Rivero each had two hits in the season opener for Tacoma.

Look Out For: Holy smokes, ex-Rainiers and Mariners outfielder Abraham Almonte went 5-for-5 and scored four runs on opening night for El Paso. He was the first PCL player to collect five hits on opening day since Shane Robinson of Memphis in 2011. Take a break, Abe!

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 5:50 PM on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here.

PCL Scoreboard: follow all Pacific Coast League games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.

Fresno topped Las Vegas, 2-1, in its first game as a Houston Astros affiliate. The funniest mascot in the PCL (sorry, Rhubarb – you’re funny, too!) arrived via helicopter. Fresno Bee columnist Marek W. has a story on some of the behind-the-scenes stuff at the ballpark. Here’s a photo gallery. Top prospect Steven Matzpitched well for Vegas.

Colorado Springs won its first game as a Brewers affiliate, although Nashville’s switch-pitching reliever Pat Vendittedrew the attention. Here’s a photo gallery from the Springs.

Two-time defending PCL champs Omaha picked up right where it left off, winning at New Orleans 10-6. Here’s a photo gallery from the “Shrine on Airline.” Sadly, there are no photos of the Zephyrs mascot, which is a giant rat.

Iowa lost at Memphis, 7-4, and Kris Bryantdid not homer. Looks like 2015 will be another season of no links from Memphis, due to the Fort Knox-level security on the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s website.

Nashville is putting the final touches on its new ballpark (the opener is April 17), and The Tennessean has a “nine inning multimedia series celebrating Nashville’s baseball history.” The first installment is on the man who spearheaded the stadium project – check it out.

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